


You Flow Into Me

by blushingprince



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 09:32:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8008222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blushingprince/pseuds/blushingprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo abandons home as an adult<br/>he finds a roommate on craigslist, but he doesn't expect it to be this rude man<br/>(child abuse mentions)</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Flow Into Me

Leo was born into the Nohr family with a silver spoon in his mouth. From a young age he was pruned and perfected to be the perfect gentleman. Not that it mattered much; his elder brother would inherit the company. He had three siblings in total and a single parent. The memories of his late mother were skimmed over.

 

He looked immaculate. The best clothes for the best man and a well-groomed face. The butlers and maids made sure of that. As he matured into a young man, everything was provided for him. The wealth was endless and Leo knew it. He went to the best schools and excelled. The boy was unquestionably genius. Everyone said he’d go far. Behind his back - that it was a shame he wouldn’t inherit Garon’s position. 

 

He heard. He knew. But Leo detested his father.    
It wasn’t the prettiest picture in the end.    
  
How many times did he lay awake at night wondering if he could get out? His cheek sore, his wrists hurting. Forget it. Here they had money. No much Father screamed, got violent…..the bruises always healed. 

 

It was safe, right? Camilla and Xander would protect him.

 

He didn’t even have to be the heir.

He was smart enough to outthink his father.

 

That’s what he thought.

 

He graduated high school that way, got into a fantastic university. Close enough to live at home and still attend. 

But in reality, he was worried about Elise. And he didn’t want to get too close to other people. Leo presented himself in public often, but he disliked being close to strangers. It was dangerous; it was too easy to get hurt. Everyone he saw reminded him of Father. His instincts jumped in and forced him to be aware. He was highly astute of everyone besides himself and chose to avoid them. The only exception being his siblings. Everyone else was out of bounds. 

 

At university, he was forced to interact with people. It put a distaste in his mouth. There were acquaintances. But never too close. 

 

But college was quite a different experience. Things got heavier with the family drama. Everyone was older now and so was Father. He got angrier and more violent. 

 

There was the night Elise ended up in the hospital. They said she fell. 

 

“Elise, you can tell us what happened,” Camilla sat next to her in the hospital room and grasped her hand gently. Around the bed crowded  Xander and Leo. 

“It’s….my fault…” she managed.

 

Leo had never seen his bright, cheery sister like that before. 

 

Xander approached the bedside and held her other hand. “My sweet Elise, please tell me what happened? I only want to protect you,” 

 

His sincerity must have come through. She began to speak.

“Father he…..we were in the kitchen at the same time. I tried to help him but he - he - took a glass and he……...hit me with it and it broke,” tears poured out of her eyes and she clung to Xander. No one spoke. It was too shocking. Garon had never laid a hand on Elise before.

 

Something snapped in Leo. He could bear with himself being hurt, but not his siblings. He watched in silence as everyone else comforted Elise. All he could do was scream at himself.

 

_ Why weren’t you home?  _

 

_ Why didn’t you see this coming? _

 

_ It’s your fault! _

 

No one was quite the same after that.

 

_______

  
  


College progressed but Leo was stagnant. How could he deal with someone as powerful as Father? How could he protect his siblings? Before he noticed it, his grades began to slip.

The term ended. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do. 

 

Leo returned home for the day. Holidays would be coming up soon, right? 

The house was filled with uncomfortable silence as usual. He plugged his headphones in his ears to distract himself. 

 

In his sleep, he couldn’t hide from the nightmares. They slivered after him like slippery snakes itching for a bite on his neck. He always awoke sweating, wondering what happened. 

The days passed like that until he got a knock on his door from one of the servants that Father wanted to see him. He froze.  _ Think think think think.  _ He agreed to go.  _ Damn it. _

 

Father’s office was terrifying. He stood outside the doors and knocked. 

 

“Come in.” was the only response.

 

Garon sat at his desk looking haggard like always. Leo stood still with his chin up. 

 

“You called for me, Father?”

 

“I decided to check your grades on a whim,” he held up papers and tossed them towards Leo.

 

“This is not acceptable for a son of Nohr!” 

 

______

  
  


The blonde walked fast paced out of his father’s office. He had to find Xander. 

 

He must’ve been running so fast he almost toppled his brother over.    
  
“Leo what’s wrong? You look…..What happened?”

 

The bruises were all forming under skin now. His lip was cut and bloody and his hair a mess.

Leo did not speak.

 

“It was Father?” 

 

No response.

 

“Leo…….he’s always picking on you like this……”

 

“Xander, I’m leaving.” Ice cold eyes.

 

“Go where, Leo? You don’t even have any money,”

 

“I’m sorry…..Please protect Elise. I can’t be there for her.”

 

Xander paused, cocking his head to the side and eyeing his brother.

 

“You know I’ve always wanted to take you out of this house, but I didn’t know the right method to do it. Maybe this is the best way. But you’re very inexperienced,”

 

“Hmph, I’ll be fine,”

 

“Leo, I’ll have Elise move into my house, okay? I want you to go back a few bags.”

 

“Wha-? I wasn’t…..I don’t actually have my own money, you know!”

 

“Well, I do. I have some colleagues a few hours away from here. I’ll send you there. I know a good hotel even,”

 

“What about school?”

 

“You can take a hiatus until things get better,”

 

“Xander, I don’t…….”

 

“Leo, please, trust me, I don’t want to see you hurt anymore.”

 

The look in Xander’s eyes’ convinced him. His brother was always so earnest.

_________

 

Within a few hours, they were headed in the car to the train station with Camilla and Elise. His bags were packed and things had been sorted out. Terrifying what the Nohr family could do, Leo thought.

 

“Wahhhhhh, Leo! I can’t believe this is happening…..I’m going to miss you so much,” Elise wailed.

 

“Now, now, Elise, we can still go visit him,” Camilla cooed gently.

 

“I’ll be okay. I have my cell phone,” Leo held out his sleek iPhone. 

 

“This is why we’re worried, Leo,” Camilla input. 

 

“I’ll text him every day!” Elise giggled.

 

“You already do, Elise,” Leo sighed.

 

At the station, everyone took turns hugging Leo until Elise shouted “Group Hug!” and everyone attacked him together. As they waited for the train to come, they chatted as if Leo wasn’t escaping something dangerous.

It was a sad goodbye, not really feeling like running away.

 

By the time Leo got on the train, Xander had already helped him sort out an assortment of things. Reservations for a room in the destination city were booked for as long as Leo needed (though a place to live would be better). His college was called and a hiatus was worked out. And Xander connected their bank accounts so he could directly deposit funds into Leo’s account. 

 

He sighed. He still felt like he was abandoning his family.  He looked out the window and plugged in his headphones. Time to move on.

________

Leo was shaken awake by someone by the time it was dark. He could make out the city lights from the train windows. A car was waiting for him outside and took him straight to the hotel. Nothing below Xander’s standards. He was given a room key and an invitation to one of the restaurants. He thanked the concierge and took refuge in his hotel room.

 

He would deal with everything tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry nohr sibs I promise this gets better and steamier  
> find me on twitter @_blushingprince


End file.
